Barry Bonds appeared as promised in a San Francisco court December 7 and pleaded not guilty to four counts of perjury and one count of obstruction of justice. Bonds appeared with 6 attorneys including recent additions, Cristina Arguedas and Allan Ruby.
While the maximum sentence for the charges against Bonds is 30 years, legal experts told ESPN that Bonds is facing 2½ years. The 30 years “would apply to Bonds only if he had a long criminal history, which he does not.”
According to T.J. Quinn and Mark Fainaru-Wada, now reporting for ESPN, expected witnesses in the trial include Bonds’ former girlfriend Kimberly bell, former business partner, Steve Hoskins. Both are expected to say that Bonds told them first-hand that he had used steroids. Quinn and Fainaru-Wada also expect that former players, Jason Giambi, Gary Sheffield and Benito Santigao may also be called to testify along with Bonds physician, Arthur Ting, and of course, former trainer, Greg Anderson.
Anderson’s attornery, Mark Geragos, said Anderson would not cooperate even after spending over a year in jail for refusing to testify to the grand jury.
“I fully expect the government to start ratcheting up the pressure on Greg. He will never cooperate with the government. He doesn’t trust them.”
Bonds posted this message on his webstie, barrybonds.com.
“I want to thank my family, friends and fans for their unwavering support. It means everything to me. Despite the charges that have been filed against me, I still have confidence in the judicial system and especially in the judgment of the citizens who will decide this case. And I know that when all of this is over, I will be vindicated because I am innocent.”
